The Race is On
by CecilaAlice
Summary: It's just like the movie, plus one character. But just how special is she to Seth? Just something that wouldn't leave me alone in my head. No flames allowed! :
1. Drop off in the Middle of Nowhere

**Hey guys! So, this story is pretty much the exact same as the movie, but I just added a character to spice things up a little. I wasn't going to post this, but I couldn't get my mind off of it! And it was driving me crazy! So here we are! :D**

**Disclaimer: The only thing I own...is not even in this chapter...wow, that sucks.**

**Enjoy! :]**

A yellow taxi cab made it's way down the empty, Las Vegas road. Inside, it's passengers sat in silence. They had been driving for what seemed like hours, not saying a word. The driver, Jack Bruno,kept his

eyes on the road. Everything that had happened in the past couple of hoursracing through his head. Mr. Wolf almost forcing him to come back to a life of crime, the two teenagers, Seth and Sara, sitting in the back of

his cab, and the recent SUV incedent. It was definatly going to be a long day.

They were in the desert now and Jack was starting to wonder what these kids were up to. He glanced in the rear-view mirror at them. They were each staring out the window and the silence that was driving him

crazy didn't seem to bother them at all. He finally spoke up. Anything to stop the silence.

"Your parents going to be okay with you spending all this money?"

"We have previously agreed upon our financial deal." the boy, Seth, spoke. "If your concern is regarding your compensation-"

"My concern is the fact that I got a couple kids in the back of my cab with a big wad of cash and a drop off location that's pretty much in the middle of no where. Now in my book that's a little chapter called running away."

They all fell silent again. Jack's attempt at conversation had failed miserably and now his radio was going off, and it was starting to annoy him. At least it wasn't silent. He listened for a few minutes, not paying a while lot of attention to it. Something about his boss wanting his cab back. Seth and Sara stared at it curiously, glancing between it and him. I ignored it as long as he could, thankful for the noise, but eventually it got to him and he picked it up.

"I'm losing reception, Domonique." he hung it back up.

Seth and Sara watched him without a word. Almost like they were studying him. It kind of made him uncomfortable, but he just didn't look at them. It helped, but not alot. He kept glancing back in the rear-view mirror at them and after a little bit, they stared out the window in silence, but their attention was averted to the back panel of glass. He watched their faces turn from expressionless to worry. Unseen by Jack, a big, black SUV was approaching. Fast.

"Jack Bruno, the vehicles behind us are indicating a pattern of persuit." Sara said franticly.

"There's no vehicles following..." he looked into his side mirror and took a double take. Sure enough, a black SUV was topping the hill behind them. How could they possbily know that before they saw it?

"At your current rate of speed versus theirs, they will overtake out vehicle in less than one minute." Seth pointed out.

"Relax, kid. I'm just gonna let 'em pass." Jack hit the break and the vehicle started to slow down and linger a little. Seth and Sara exchanged looks of panic as he rolled down his window, gesturing for the SUV to pass. "Open road people! It's all yours!"

One of them sped up, drifting into the other lane and lingering beside them a moment. Seth and Sara stared into the tinted windows, their brows pointed down in frustration of not being able to see who was on the other side. Jack glanced up at the truck, but didn't pay much head to it as it continued to pass them.

"See, what'd I tell ya?" Jack rested an arm on the back of the passenger seat. "I'm the kind of these roads."

"Jack Bruno!" Sara exclaimed. The SUV had blocked the road in front of them. Jack slammed on the brakes, causing the cab to spin out of control. When he gained some control, he saw a break in the blockade and swerved pass the trucks.

"I said I was done and I ment it!"

"Who is Mr. Wolf, Jack Bruno?" Sara said, recovering from getting slung around the back of the car.

"How do you know that?" Another SUV rammed into the back of the cab, and was joined by two others on the side, plus the one in front.

They were trapped.

"Get down, now!" Jack ordered. The kids did as they were told and he slammed on the breaks once more, crashing into the vehicle behind him and swerving around so that they all crashed into one another. Seth and Sara heard the explosion and sat up, looking around. They turned to the back window, breathing heavy. But there troubles were far from over.

"Jack Bruno, it would appear we have not aluded them." Sara stated.

"I'm so over this." Jack shook his head. "Stay down!"

They doubled over and held tight to anything they could so as to not get slung around everywhere again. Seat belts only did so much in this kind of situation. They could hear Jack's curses from the front seat as he manuvered the cab across the desert road. But something Seth thought caught Sara's attention. She turned her head to him to find the look of pure determination spread across his features.

"Seth, no. That's not a good idea."

"I have to try."

"It's too dangerous." But it was too late. He disappeared though the back of the cab and she quickly twisted in her seat looking for him. He stood tall in the middle of the road, the SUV headed straight for him. They could all hear the screach of the trucks breaks trying to stop, but their chance had come and gone and neither child blinked or twitched as the metal crumbled around Seth's form. Once she saw that her brother was trying to catch up again, Sara raised her hand and the car stopped and began to back up at her command. Jack looked around, trying to find the problem, sitting completely still when he realized he wasn't doing anything to move the vehicle. When it stopped, he gripped hte steering wheel and let out a sigh of relief.

"You two okay?"

"We are..." Sara started, eyeing her brother nervously.

"Fine." he finished through gritted teeth. "We should just keep moving."

They drove on, mostly in silence. Seth and Sara holding their own whispered conversation in the back, leaving Jack alone with his thoughts which were mostly on the kids. The silence soon got to him again and he glanced up at the mirror at them.

"How you two holding up back there?"

Sara looked to Seth. "We're fine." she said.

"I'm sorry I got you guys into this."

"There's no need ot apologize, Jack Bruno. Your not always the one to blame."

"But the urgency of our trip has not decreased." Seth piped in before the subject could change.

"Don't worry. I'll get you where you need to go. You've earned it."

**Tell me whatcha' think. And please...no flames...I hate that.**

**Thanks! :]**

**Love,**

_**Cally**_


	2. A Familiar Name

**Hey guys! So this is the chapter where I get to add a little creativity! Yay! hahaa. :]**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything except for the new character. :]**

They drove on for another hour or so. Seth and Sara talked amoungst themselves and Jack concentrating on the road ahead of them, letting his mind wander. Why did Mr. Wolf want him back on his team so bad? What was he worth? Why would he follow him all they way out here? And the kids, Seth and Sara? What were they doing with all this money? And where exactly were they leading him? Should he call somebody? About both problems? So many questions were running through his mind and it was starting to give him a head ache. Maybe he shouldn't have picked them up in the first place. Maybe he should of just told them to get out of his cab and let them get another ride like he planned in the first place.

"We are here, Jack Bruno." Sara said suddenly, pulling him away from his escaping mind. Maybe that was best.

"Here? There's nothing here." he looked around, avoiding the shrubs that were obviously hiding whatever he was supposed to see. But then he saw what Sara was talking about. An old rundown shack. Hm.

"There's someone expecting you two, right? Doesn't look like anyone's home." he parked the car and leaned back.

"Don't worry, Jack Bruno. We will soon be reunited with relatives." Sara unbuckled and, with a big smile on her face, scooted out of the cab.

"Okay. $720. 50. But after all that went down today, how 'bout I knock off 25% and-"

"Here." Seth cut him off, throwing the whole wad of cash in his hand and racing off after his sister. Jack stared after him.

"Okay, then. Good-bye to you, too." he flipped through the money, finding mostly hundred-dollar-bills. "500% tip...reasonable." He sat there a moment, rubbing his hand down his face and letting it fall back into his lap. Feeling guilty, and sighed and stepped out of the car and called to the kids.

"Hey! You guys overpaid!...by alot!"

No answer.

He sighed again and shut the cab door and looked it over. The side mirror was hanging by a thread, the yellow was almost completely gone, and he couldn't find once single flat peice of metal anywhere on the car.

"Unbelievable." he whispered to himself. The sound of glass shattering made him jump, and with one last look at the beat up cab he started towards the house, stuffing the money in his pants pocket. He walked up the creaky wood steps to the poarch and glass crunched underneath his feet. He looked around one last time before he turned the handle ans stepped insode.

"Everything okay in there? Hello?" the door shut behind him and he grabbed a peice of wood and whirled around. No one was there. He walked in a little further, wooden chair leg at the ready. The floor creaked under his feet and his eyes darted around the room. It looked as if no one had lived there for years. Dust and cobwebs everywhere and half of the furniture was covered by faded sheets. Maybe it was ment to be abandoned.

Something tugged on his jacket and he tried to whack it before it got any closer, but it went right through the body, hitting the couch instead. It was Seth.

"What just happened?" Jack started but Seth stopped him.

"Jack Bruno, you shold not have jeperdized your life by following us." Sara said.

"What sort of trouble are you two in?"

"I suggest you return back to your vehicle." Seth said, starting to get forceful. "Your services are no longer required."

"Seth, he's just trying to help." Sara pushed.

"We don't need his help!" he hissed. She was taken aback by her brother's actions, but soon saw his point as he continued. "Somebody's already been here looking for it. We simply can not trust any of them. It's just us, Sara." he stared at her a moment and went back to messing with the device in his hands again. Sara looked distressed, but turned to Jack with a serious look.

"We appriciate your efforts to assist us, Jack Bruno. But my brother is right, we can involove you no further."

"Got it!" Seth stood and disappeared around the corner, Sara on his heels before Jack realized what happened, they were out of sight.

"Hey! Just tell me what's going o-" he tried to call out to them, but it was too late. They weren't paying any attention. He sighed and stood, feeling slightly vulnerable with nobody around him. Like he was being watched. A shiver went down his spine and he followed the kids into what looked like the kitchen area. Or at least, it was supposed to be the kitchen area. It had been neglected for so long, it didn't look much different from the rest of the house. He found them standing in front of a large white box. What used to be a refridgerator, or what was left of it. Seth opened the door and examined it, looking to his sister before he placed the remote like object on the side, pressing one button, then stepping back.

"What is that?" Jack asked, but the kids didn't answer. Either ignoring him, or so deep into what they were doing, they simply did not hear, he didn't know. The refridgerator slide back into the wall to reveal a secret passageway and Seth and Sara ran in without hesitation. Jack peeked inside, his face showing pure awe. He came out again and looked around the dusty old house, debating on weather or not to go in. He sighed.

"Don't go into the pimped out fridge, Jack." he said to himself, and stepped inside, meeting a small flight of stairs. He went down one step at a time, pausing every few stairs to look back at the doorway, but still continuing on. Seth and Sara were already down at the bottom staring at a brick wall. A dead end. Or so he thought.

Seth put the device on the wall and repeated the notions from the top of the stairs and Jack stared as the wall disappeared before his eyes, opening up into a small forest-like room. Here, even Seth and Sara hesitated a bit. The room was filled with trees and plants of all kinds, even ones not from this planet. Dirt and rocks, twigs and leaves covered the ground. But what was unusual were the giant glowing plants growing up from the gound and hanging from the ceiling.

"What is this place?" said Jack. But Seth and Sara payed him no heed and separated, going in opposite directions and leaving Jack to stand looking around the forest. But he didn't have to wait long. It wasn't five minutes and Seth called out:

"Sara! It's here!" her and Jack both ran to find him standing next to one of the alien plants with the remote held out to it. The device was blinking rapidly, like a metal detector over a plane buried in the ground. Sara looked at him and he nodded, pulling off her necklace and placing it on top of the plant. Reluctantly, she stuck her hand inside and pulled out a similar looking remote to the one Seth was holding. A big smile jumped on her face.

"What is it?" asked Jack.

"It is what we came for, Jack Bruno." she smiled.

"Is anyone else looking for it? Like the person who trashed everything upstairs?"

"We think so." said Seth. "It is very valuable. Which is why it was so vitle that we locate it first."

"What makes you so sure that wha-"

"Wait." Sara held up her hand to stop him. "I hear someone."

"I don't hear anything." Jack stared at her.

Seth looked at his sister patiently, but his eyes went wide and he looked in the direction she stared. "I hear it, too." He looked at her, confused. Her hearing stuff wasn't so strange, but when he heard it, that's when they started to get worried. Something wasn't right.

"But- wait. There it is again." Sara started.

"Hold on." they looked to Jack. "Now I hear it."

Seth and Sara looked at each other, total panic apparent on their faces. Now _he _could hear it, too? Something definately wasn't right. They looked around, scooting closer together in attempt at a defense agianst whatever was out there. They had to protect the experiment, no matter what.

_Help...._

It was in their head. They looked around, even towards the ceiling. Was it a trick? Whatever it was repeated it's plea, getting stronger every time. The one word ringing inside their heads like a bell, but a small, almost unaudible whimper caught their attention. It came from the bush not eight feet away from where they were standing, the branches moved a little and their muscles tensed, waiting to see if they had over-reacted or not, but they let their held breath go when a small girl, about Sara's age, crawled out of the brikley bush. Sara ran over to her side and kneeled down next to her.

"Are you okay?" she helped the girl to her knees and she looked up at Sara's face with a terrified look in her eyes, like she had just witnessed something awful, like death. Sara was taken aback when she noticed small, very distenct features that didn't seem like a big deal to anyone but her and Seth. The girl's hair was down to her knees, a knotted and tangled mess. But what mattered to Sara was that it was blonde. Bleach, almost white, blonde, and bright, ocean-blue eyes.

_I don't know..._ It was the voice again, the girl, but her mouth didn't move. _There's a syphon after me._

Seth and Jack walked up behind them. Sara looked up at her brother, then back to the girl. "What's your name?"

_Luci. Why?_

Seth was taken aback by her answer and Sara simply smiled, standing and holding out her hand to Luci.

"Don't worry." she said as Luci took her hand and stood with shakey legs. She was covered in dirt from head to toe, and her clothes were ripped to shreds. Sara put a hand on her shoulder to steady her. "We have retrieved what you came for."

Luci looked at her, then to Seth and Jack. She let out a rattley sigh of relief and rubbed her arms. She smiled. _Thank you._

"Do you know her?" Jack looked completely lost.

"We know of her." Sara smiled at the new member of their party.

"Come on." Seth pushed. "There's not much time."

Luci followed Sara and her brother through the leaves and branches of the strange forest, searching for the exit. They had travled further than they thought and had a little trouble finding it. Luci kept up as much as she could, though her legs were wobbley and she felt fragile, but she kept moving, fearing seeming weak. Sara glanced back every few seconds, checking on her, studying her. Nobody said anything for a while, then Jack stopped.

"There's the door." he pointed to where they had come in, it was about 10 yards in front of them. Jack stopped and made sure all three kids were walking, them began to follow them. They were almost there, but a loud whistling noise made them stop and cover their ears.

"What is that?" Jack looked around, then he saw it. But it was too late. The bullet hit the door and a large explosion sent them to the ground.

"Run, run, run!" he pushed the kids and Sara grabbed ahold of Luci's hand, dragging her along behind Seth. Her legs threating to collapse under her, but she kept going. She would not be weak. She promised. She promised him.

Jack stayed behind and tryed to destract whatever it was that fired at them. He stood looking around with his fists held up ready to fight, but nothing was there. He turned in circles, searching for their attacker, without much success.

"Uf!" Something whacked him hard in the back and he hit the dirt, rolling into a bush and keeping as still as possible. He could see Seth, Sara, and Luci not far away. They looked paniced and unsure. He searched to see if he could find what had attacked him, but no such luck. Another explosion sounded right next to the kids and they fell backwards, but were soon up and running again.

"Jack Bruno!" Sara called out.

"Kids!" he answered back, trying to reach them, but they all ducked under more fire. Seth followed his sister towards the door, Luci behind him. The strange plants were starting to melt, it seemed and the residue was like lava hitting the ground. Jack backed away and listend for the kids.

"Go, go, go, Sara!" he heard Seth and started after them, but a fresh wave of fire blocked him.

"Jack Bruno!" Sara exclaimed again. She searched for him through the the flames, but she stopped when the remote they had recovered was knocked out of her hand. She looked around for it, but it was no where to be found. "Seth!"

"Where is it?" him and Luci were looking for it as well.

_There! _Luci pointed, but Seth and Sara just looked around confused. She dived for it, gripping the device and holding on to it tightly.

"Luci!" Seth kneeled down and sheilded her body with his. She screamed and her eyes closed shut, both of them waiting for the fire that was sure to come. But nothing happened. Seth opened his eyes and looked around. There was evidence of fire in a perfect circle around them, but they were perfectly safe. Well, so to speak.

"How did you-"

"We gotta go!" Jack cut him off and pushed them up towards the passageway and down the hall. When they reached the door, another fireball came right next to them, knocking them all around the tiny room. Luci was forced to the wall, and her breath caught, winded, she fell to her knees and something heavy from the top of the shelves above her smashed on her head. She fell with a deep thud on the brown dirt.

"Luci!" Sara exclaimed. Jack ran and picked the unconcious girl up in a fireman carry. She fell limp in his arms.

Go! Keep moving, keep moving!" Seth and Sara looked shocked and confused, but when Jack went ahead up the stairs, they followed him without hesitation. They all made it, not taking a glance back, but they didn't have to.

**Boom.**

The old house exploded with whatever it was that attacked them still in it. Maybe they had a chance that they could continue without any distractions. But they didn't have time to think about it, they needed away from here as soon as possible. Seth ran ahead of them and opened the back door of the cab and crawled in.

"Here!" Jacked handed Luci to him and closed the beat up door, waisting no time in running around to the driver's side. Sara jumped in the front passenger seat and buckled herself in. Seth did the same, holding tight the unconsioius girl.

"Hang on to her!" Jack ordered.

None of them looked back as the old shack burned to the ground, and hopfully the syphon with it. Now all they had was the empty, desert, Navada road, and for the kids, alot of explaining to do.

**Tell me what 'cha think! Just no flames! :]**


	3. Confusion and Train Recks

**Still no reviews...sad face. Oh well! I'm getting bunches of hits and it makes me smile. :]**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I only own Luci.**

After a good half hour, they were out of sight ofthe house and on the open road. It was dark, late. Past midnight, and once again, it was silent, much to Jack's displeasure. He glanced over at Sara. She was staring out the windsheild, seeming to look past what was really out, which really wasn't much. She seemed pretty content with the no noise thing. He looked up into the rear-view mirror. The new girl, Luci, was still out. Her head rested in Seth's lap and he didn't seem to mind too much. He was simply staring at her, deep in thought almost.

"How's the girl?" Jack asked.

"Luci is still unconcious, but she will be fine." Sara replied. "It is important we gain much distance from this location."

Seth wasn't paying much attention to Jack and his sister. He couldn't keep his eyes off the girl in his lap. She was beautiful. Extreamly long, blonde hair, brilliant blue eyes. Of course, that was how his people were bred: blonde-haired, blue-eyed. But these eyes were different, just something about them he couldn't place. It made him feel the strange need to protect her, to make her happy. To see her smile, hold her when she cried, to tell her she was beautiful, kiss her forehead. Was this normal? He had never felt this way before. It was so strange to him, foreign. He pushed her hair out of her eyes and tucked it behind her ear, skimming his knuckles over her dirt-covered cheek. He couldn't stop thinking about her. He should be thinking about his planet, his people, his family. How did she do this to him? The cab suddenly came to an abrupt stop, bringing him out of his trance. He looked around. There wasn't much to see. Just sand, dirt, and road for miles. With the occasional shrub here and there. Overall, not a very visually interesting place. What was going on?

"Alright, here's the deal." Jack said. "The cab doesn't move until your mouths do. So start talking."

"The information you are seeking is not within your grasp of understanding." Seth said, being careful as to not desturb Luci. She probably hadn't got much sleep lately. She looked like she needed it.

"We are dealing with issues outside the realm of...your world." Sara added.

"Hey," Jack looked at them both. "I'm a cab driver, okay? I have had pleanty of worldy experiences."

Luci twitched once and they were interupted. They all looked down at her and her eyes fluttered open, blinking a couple of times and looking around. She sat up holding her head.

_Whoa... _she thought out loud.

"Carful. You might want to lay back down, don't take it too fast." Truth was, Seth wanted her to stay there forever, where he could protect her. Protecter from everything, so he didn't ever have to see her hurt. WHy did her feel like this? It was starting to really confuse him.

_No, I'm fine. What's going on?_

Though she thought this, she still looked unstable and Seth put a hand on her back to keep her steady. Sara seemed to be the only one to notice this small, but very meaningful gesture and it's true meaning. Seth didn't even know. She smiled at the thought, and Luci glanced up at her, like she'd heard what she said, but her attention was averted to something else.

_Oh no... _Luci twisted in her seat, searching out of the back window.

"What is it?" Seth asked.

_The syphon. _

"Sara, we have to go, now!"

Sara didn't ask questions and her hand flew up and the cab immediately started up and was speeding down the road, causing Luci to fly forward before Seth caught her around the waist and pulled her back, quickly buckling her in the middle seat, right next to him. They wern't far ahead when the syphon began to shoot at them from behind. He missed, but not by much and Jack was forced to swerve off the road and down a steep, rocky hill.

"Hang on!" he put a hand in front of Sara, keeping the other on the wheel. Luci put her hands on Seth's shoulders and buried her face into his neck. He but an arm around her torso and a hand on her head to keep her calm. They hit the train tracks and Jack followed them to a tunnel where he parked and they all sat silently for a moment, catching their breaths. He turned to the kids.

"Okay, what was that? And this time I need answers."

Seth and Luci finally realized how close they were, and seperated, blushing, both of them thankful for the darkness of the tunnel. Luci sighed.

"It's a syphon." she answered. They all looked at her, this was the first time she had truly spoken. Seth was completely mesmorized. Her voice was as beautiful as she was. He thought she had glanced over at him, but he didn't have time to think about it as the conversation continued.

"A what?" said Jack.

"An assasin trained to pursue his target until his mission is completed."

"And his mission is...?"

Lights came from above the tunnel, blue search lights.

"Us." Sara whispered. They all held their breath and kept completely still as they came closer to the cab. Jack gripped the steering wheel and slowly reached for the keys in the ignition, ready to book it out of there if need be. The lights got closer and closer and the look of sheer terror had reached all of their eyes. It came to the very tip of the car, lingering for a moment then quickly vanish back into the desert, sheding no light on their hiding place. All of their breaths released at once and Jack immediately started the cab, slowly guiding the car down the tracks, wanting as far away from there as possible. Nobody said a word, all of them concentrating on breathing and keeping shakey hand still from the close call. Sara looked around.

"Is there a safer route, Jack Bruno?"

"Not unless you know how to fly."

_Sara, he's back! _It was Luci again, though Sara seemed to be the only one to hear it. But it was too late, a loud screeching filled their ears and a shot was fired at them, jostling them again. Sara and Luci screamed and Jack forced the cab into another tunnel. The kids all turned to see a small, black ship fly in after them.

"Jack Bruno!" Sara whimpered.

"Almost there, hold it together!" he said, hoping he was right. But a loud horn honked ahead of them, putting his hopes down. "Oh, come on!"

_We'll make it. _Luci's voice rang in Seth's head and she put a hand on his knee. He looked down at it, then at her, confused. She had her eyes closed and her brows furrowed, like she was concentrating on something. _Just make him go faster. _

Seth hesitated, but Luci was too busy concentrating to notice. He looked to Jack and took a breath. "Faster! Faster!"

"It won't go any faster!" Jack replied, paniced.

"Sara!"

Her hand flew up again and the speed dial slid to the right, the engine reved from going so fast. They saw the train lights coming toward them at top speed, and all but Luci let out a scream as they reached the end of the tunnel just in time for the train to collide with the ship. The cab kept going, crashing through the bushes and coming to a stop, leaving them on the edge of an open, empty road.

**Tell me what you think! Just no flames. :]**

_**Cally**_


	4. The Truth Comes Out

**Hey! Sorry it's been a couple of days since I've updated. I've been busy with band and gateways and such. :P**

**But anyway, thanks to Blue who was my only review! I appiciate it very much so!**

**Here's chapter 4! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I only own Luci. :]**

"No. We can not trust him." Seth said in a low voice to his sister and Luci. Jack was outside working on the engine of the cab, leaving the kids inside to talk about the current situation.

"I know we can." Sara argued. She was twisted around in her seat to face Seth and Luci in the back. "We must."

"Help the kids, big wad a cash. What could go wrong?" their conversation was cut short when they heard Jack slam the hood shut and slide back into the driver's seat. Seth, Sara, and Luci looked at each other, then at him, all of them worried about what would happen now that they had retrieved the experiment. Would he abandon them? Would he tell anybody about what he'd seen and heard? If he did, their mission would fail. But they needed him now. He could get them places and he knew people. He was their only hope now.

Sara decided to speak up. "We know your frustrated, Jack Brun-"

"No." he cut her off. "No more 'Jack Bruno this' or 'Jack Bruno that'. I've been asking fro answers-"

"You already know the answers, Jack Bruno. My brother, Luci, and I, we're indeed not from you planet."

Jack laughed. "So that's it? Mystery solved! You three want me to believe that your all aliens?"

"It is the truth." said Seth.

"Really? Well, you don't look like aliens."

"Well, what does and alien look like, Jack Bruno?" Sara asked, a little confused.

"You know what aliens look like! They look like little green people, with antenas and laser guns and 'take me to your leader, Earthlings'..."

They all stared at him.

"He requires some sort of proof." Luci spoke. "He thinks we're insulting his intellgence."

"Ya think? You can't just drop the 'we're aliens' bomb just like that on somebody! Now I know I've seen some pretty weird things today, but you can't expect meto believe that..." his voice trailed off when Sara's hand raised, and everything loose in the car hovered in front of him. He was quiet a moment, staring at the floating objects. He was speechless.

"I have the ability to move objects with my mind." she explained.

"That's impossible."

"No, it's quite possible. On our planet as well as yours. You don't do it because you havn't learned to use your full brain capasity."

"No, I don't do it 'cause it's kinda creepy and I really would like you to stop."

She put her hand down and everything fell with it. They were all quiet and Jack looked at Luci.

"And how did you do that?"

"Do what?" she looked slightly taken aback and Seth glared at Jack for his tone towards her. No one seemed to notice.

"I heard your voice earlier, but your mouth didn't move. How did you do that?"

She sighed. _Mental projection is what they called it. _Her lips didn't twitch, but they all heard it. Seth thought back to when they were fired at and they sat in a perfect circle of fire.

"And how did we not get hit? Back at the outpost?" he asked, curious.

She cocked her head at him, and he wanted to smile, but his face stayed straight, waiting for an answer. Suddenly she remembered.

"Oh, it was a forcefield I created around us. And with the mental projection, I can also-"

Helecopters flew overhead and they fell silent. Waiting till it passed and then some till Jack whispered, reaching for the keys. "We should probably keep moving."

They drove on to the nearest town and pulled in an old car garage. They all stepped out of the cab and dusted themselves off, looking around. There didn't seem to be anybody there.

"Hello?" Jack called. "Anyone here?"

"We're closed." they turned to the desk that they had overlooked. It was covered with cans and papers and odds and ends of things, you couldn't see a bit of it's natural surface. Behind it, a man covered in oil stood. He smelled of gasoline and tire rubber and it made Luci's nose sting.

"Yeah, I know your closed, but we've experienced a little bit of car trouble."

"We're still closed. You should experience your car touble when we're open."

"I'll work on that next time. This time I really need you to-"

_Jack Bruno. _It was Luci in his head. He moved only his eyes to look at her. _The only thing that will convince Eddie Cortez to reopen his business would be a significant amount of money. _

"Sir?" Eddie was leaning over the pile of junk staring at Jack, who had stopped talking seemingly for no reason. He eyed Luci suspiciously, but her eyes were glued on Eddie, unblinking. Strangley, Sara looked the same. Jack turned back to the machanic.

"Yes. Um, listen, I'll pay you double your rate."

Eddie chuckled. "Why not triple?"

"Done."

He was surpised at his offer, but Jack didn't pay any attention, spitting out a list of stuff that needed fixing and replacing, handing over the money and leading the kids out of the garage. They walked a little while till they came to a small diner. They lights were bright and loud music was playing, and when they walked in, they found that the music was actually live. Country. Jack led them to an empty table towards the back.

"Sit down." he said.

Seth, Sara, and Luci did as they were told and looked around. There were people bustling around everywhere and it was crowded. Very crowded. They smell of hamburgers, hotdogs, frenchfries, and alcohol filled the stale air and made Sara's head spin, but even the strange smells and noises didn't stop her from hearing Jack's thoughts. She whipped her head around to face him.

"Jack Bruno, I hope you do not wish to execute your plan of sneaking out here, never to look back at us again." she finished her sentence, but looked at Luci, who had spoken at the same time she had, rambling and screaming about the same thing. Did she hear his thoughts as well?

"Whoa! Whoa, how did you two know that?" Jack looked wide-eyed at both of them.

"My sister also has the gift of telepathy. She can read the minds of those nearest to them." Seth explained. "And Luci..."

"It comes with the mind projection." she answered simply, keeping her worried, paniced eyes on Jack.

"Really?" Jack wasn't interested in anymore magic powers. "Well, you need to tell your sister and your little friend here that here on Earth, reading minds: very rude. Don't do that."

Sara and Luci looked at each other with a look of confusion. They couldn't exactly help it. They were born with it, and it wasn't like they could just switch it on and off when they wanted.

"Hi, guys." a blonde-haired, blue-eyed waitress walked up to their table. The kids all looked at each other. She looked like...no, she couldn't be. Not here. But..

"Welcome." she continued. "My name is Tina and I'm gonna be your server." she glanced at the kids, looking them up and down. "Wow. Look at the three of you."

"What do you mean 'look at the three of them'?" Jack said, trying without much success to cover up their secret. "They look like three normal, regular, innocent, all-American kids."

"Who look like they just reolled around in a pig-pin right before dinner."

"Hey, Tina." a sheriff walked by her and nodded his head. She smiled at him before he walked on past.

"Now, why don't the three of you come with me, and get you all cleaned up, huh?"

Seth, Sara, and Luci followed Tina to the back, making their way through the crowded room with some difficulty. They reached two doors, one said 'Men' and the other, 'Women'.

"Okay, you, in there, and girls, in here." Tina gestured to the correct rooms with a smile. Luci followed Sara in and all but ran to the sink, happy to be able to get clean.

_My brother likes you. _Luci flinched at Sara's voice inside her head. She had surprised her, usually it was her doing the silent talk. She didn't look at her, or respond in anyway. What was she supposed to say to that?

_But you already knew that, didn't you? _ Sara continued, walking up to her. Luci still didn't answer. She didn't know what to say. She finished washing and went to grab a paper towel, pretending not to hear Sara, but she blocked the way, her arms folded across her chest. _I know you can hear me._

Luci sighed, defeated. _Yes, I know._

_You know what?_

_Yes, I can hear you, and yes I know Seth likes me._

_Then, why didn't you say anything? _Sara went to wash her own hands, while Luci contemplated and answer.

_I wanted him to figure it out for himself._

_He won't. _She grabbed a paper towel and handed it to Luci, then getting one for herself. _That's just how he is. He will change his mind over and over again till someone tells him different._

Luci didn't say anything.

_Okay, simpler question. Do you like him back?_

She hesitated before answering. Yes, she had thought about it alot since they found her in the outpost, but did she really? Was she ready to say 'yes' to that question? But Sara was impatient and went ahead and searched her mind. She smiled. _I think you do. _

_Okay, so what if I do? I mean, he-_

"You two alright in there?" It was Tina.

"Coming!" Sara called. "Come one. We'll finish this conversation on the way."

They walked out of the room and fell in step behind Seth and Tina.

_I think you should tell him. Help him along with making up his mind. _Sara smiled.

_But- _

_No 'buts'. Just do it. I think your perfect for each other, and you'd be cute._

_Well..._

_Just do it. _

They were quiet a moment.

_Luci? _Sara spoke.

_Hmm?_

_I think we're going to be great friends._

_I hope so. _

They made to the table, and Jack was still stitting there, unmoved. They sat back down in silence, Tina informing them that she would be back shortly. It wasn't quiet long before Jack spoke up.

"You know, I think that it would be-"

"Best for everyone if we found another ride?" Sara's and Luci's voices harmonized. No one was smiling.

"Seriously. You gotta stop doing that. Both of you."

"Jack Bruno, it is understandable that you are scared and confused considering all that has occured-" Sara started

"I'm not scared."

"Yes you are." said Luci. Seth, Sara, and Jack all looked at her with questioning eyes. Did she read his mind, or was this something else she wasn't telling them?

"I, uh, also have the gift of empathy. I can sense the feelings of otheres." she said, not touching too much on the subject with something else more important at hand. Sara smiled.

"Okay fine," Jack continued. "But the bottom line is you guys need someone from NASA, or the airforce. Not me."

"If you abandon us now, our mission will be in serious jeperdy." said Sara

"Look, I'm just trying ot be honest here, okay? I'm the wrong guy."

"A wise human once said: you are what you think you are." said Luci.

"Yeah, well, why don't you find that guy and ask him?"

"It was the Buddha." Seth answered. "He is unavailable."

"How can it be that a being is so large in size, but feel so small inside?" Luci took Jack's hand. "Maybe you need help, too, Jack Bruno."

He stared at her a moment, thinking over what she had said. She was very serious. Nobody said a word, and his phone rang. Luci let loose of his hand and he sighed, flipping it open, not even bothering to see who it was. He thought he knew, but he was far from right.

"I told you, Domonique-" The kids all watched him cut his sentence short and sit there a moment with his mouth open. He held up a finger to the kids and stood up, walking away and looking around nervously. They all looked at each other with confused glances. Sara smiled.

_Luci, do it now._

_What?_ Luci looked at her as if she were crazy. _Sara, were in the middle of a crisis, here. I don't think-_

_Luci, this might be your last chance. _The look on her face was one of worry and pity. Like she knew they might not make it out of this, and she wanted this to happen. _I want my brother, and my best friend to be happy. _

Luci was taken aback, averting her eyes to the table, fiddling with her fingers. She looked up at Seth. He looked like he knew he was being left out of something, but he was quiet, patient. She sighed.

_Best friend? _She asked Sara, who nodded in return. Luci sucked in a breath. _You want to listen?_

_If you don't mind._

_I rather you would. I'm kind of scared._

Sara smiled. _Your perfectly calm going at a train head on, but this scares you?_

Luci bit her lip.

_Don't worry. I'm right here._

Luci smiled back at her and took a breath. Seth was staring at her with an almost worried look as well. But he quickly got rid of it, like he was scared to show his true feelings. Luci consentrated and threw her mind out to Seth and Sara.

_Seth?_

_Yes? _He seemed used to this. She guessed it was from his sister. _I, uh, have something to tell you._

_Okay. What is it? _

She hestitated. She could feel her hands shaking and she tried to get them to stop without much luck. She looked to Sara, who gestured her to continue.

_Luci? _Seth was looking at her, almost anxious. He wanted her to keep talking to him. She felt his aura. Scared, nervous, impatient. She almost smiled at the thought.

_Um, Seth, I don't really know how to say this... _She stopped again.

_Go on. Just say it. You can tell me. _He was trying to gain her trust. But what he didn't know, was that he already had it. She trusted him with her life. He'd already saved it once.

She took a big breath. _Seth, I, um, like you...alot. _

They sat there a moment, Luci's face turning scarlett and she hung her head. She had got it out, but now the result was what scared her.

_Really? _Seth looked slightly surprised as she nodded. He was quiet, but a smile slowy crept onto his lips. _Well, uh, I like you alot, too. Do you, uh, want to be my..girlfriend?_

She looked up to meet an actually shy smile. She bit her lip, nodding. _Yes, I do._

There were smiles all around as Seth took her hand and squeezed it. She giggled.

_I told you!_ Sara screamed in her head, and she laughed. But the joy was killed when Jack came back. He didn't say anything, but the look on his face said it all. They all stared at him.

_Determination. _Luci thought to Seth and Sara. They all stood and Seth took Luci's hand for the first time, entwining his fingers with hers. But the mood had changed as they approached Jack.

"They're here for us, arn't they?" said Luci.

"Yeah, they are." was all Jack said before he walked over the sheriffs table.

"I knew we couldn't trust him. It's too late, we have to run." Seth started to drag Luci away, and she would have followed if Sara hadn't said anything.

"Wait!" she stared at Jack, and Seth and Luci averted their attention to him as well.

"I was just wondering what your policy was on consiled firearms." Jack said to the sheriff.

"Excuse me?" he looked confused.

"There's a whole bunch of guns coming in."

He motioned for the kids to follow him and they went behind the stage. But when the guns were pulled, they stopped and Luci grapped hold of Seth's arm. They were dead silent and didn't move, consentrating on keeping their breathing even.

"Hey." someone whispered. "Follow me." They turned to see who it was. To their surprise, it was Tina. They followed her to a door that led to a room with a ladder. Jack started up it while Seth watched from the floor. Luci and Sara stopped by Tina.

"Thank you." they both said.

She took both of their hands. "Good luck."

Sara and Luci smiled and followed the boys watched them a moment, remembering something from her past. But she sighed, smiling, and closed the door and remained hidden in the back of the room, hoping they got out safe.

xXx

"It's locked from the outside." Jack was at the top of the ladder pushing on the trap door. He made his way down and jumped onto the concrete. "We gotta find a new-hey, hey, hey!"

Seth began to climb up himself, ignoring Jack and getting all the way to the top. He reached through the steel door and felt around for the latch, pulling the lock when and found it and pushed it open.

"Or we could do that." said Jack. "Whatever that is."

"My brother has the ability to control his moleculer density which allows him to phase through solid objects or withstand the greatest of impacts." Sara started up the ladder. Jack stared at her.

"That's neat. Real neat."

Luci giggled and followed sara up the ladder as well. Seth was already out, helping his sister. He smiled when Luci got to he top. She smiled back, a hint of pink on her already rosy cheeks, and took his outstretched hand. They were out on the roof of the diner, and when Jack was out and the door closed and locked agian, they looked for a way down. Jack noticed and small trailer right next to the building and led them to it, hopping onto it's roof. Jack jumped to the ground and turned with his arms out to Seth, who jumped without hesitation. When he was safley down, Jack called for Sara.

Luci swung her legs over the edge and looked down, biting her lip. She never liked heights, and she didn't think she ever would. But she promised him. She took a deep breath and looked over again. Seth was standing below her, looking worried. Sara jumped down into Jack's arms next to her. She was the only one left.

_I'll catch you. _Seth's voice sounded. He had his arms out to her. She felt a corner of her mouth come up slightly, and taking a deep breath, she took a leap of faith, pushing off the side and landing in Seth's embrace. She had her eyes squeezed shut. When she opened them, Seth was so close, their noses were touching. He smiled.

_See? That wasn't so bad. _

She smiled and a small giggle escaped her lips, but a growl threw them off. They turnedto see a medium sized dog standing with it's teeth bared at them not eight feet away from them.

"Hi, little fella." Jack soothed, slowly backing away from the dog. It went after him and he put his arms up in defense, waiting, but nothing came. He looked around to find Sara kneeling on the ground, with the dog licking her face. She smiled.

"We appriciate your understanding."

Luci giggled, Seth's hands still on her waist, her hand flat against his chest as he smiled as well. Jack looked at them, pointing, confused.

"Are you two-"

"Let's go." said Sara, walking off and distracting him. Seth took Luci's hand and they followed close behind his sister.

_Thanks. _Thought Luci.

_Anytime. _Sara replied, not stopping. _Jack Bruno doesn't need to know that much right now._

**Wud'ja think? Review please!**

_**Cally**_


	5. Anger Issues and a Plan

**Hullo! Okay, so this chapter is like uber short, and I apologize. This chapter, and the next I believe, will be more of an information filler. They are gonna show alot of what they are feeling about what's going on, or at least I'm gonna try to do that. So bear with me.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I only own Luci. **

They made their way toward's Eddie's garage, being careful as to not desturb the many SUVs outside the diner. Looking left, then right, they ran across the street and ran inside the safety of the messy room to find Eddie leaned over the open hood of the beat up cab. Seth led Luci to the back door and opened the door for her to slide into, stepping in after her. Jack went around Eddie to the driver's side, and Sara stopped at her door.

"Eddie, time's up." Jack said, standing outside the car. Eddie stood up straight and looked at Jack with wide eyes. Sara's hand raised from her door and the hood slammed down, making Eddie jump. She got in the passenger's seat and buckled up, preparing for the ride. Luci could feel the tension from her and Seth. Impatience, and stress. It made her figit, and uncomfortable. Sometimes her powers wern't so much fun. She could hear Jack's and Eddie's arguement from outside. Jack's aura felt...indifferent. Uneasy and hurried. He was scared. But for what? Them? Himself? She tried to search him mind, it was so eratic. She wasn't used to it considering she never really used her mind reading powers. She felt more comfortable with feeling other's emotions and throwing her own mind. It was simpler as to just hear what people wanted to hear when they spoke silently. Seth stared at her with concern, sliding an arm around her waist and pulling her close, trying to comfort her. She smiled up at him, giving up on Jack and leaving most of the mind reading to Sara.

"Next time we're in town, we'll make an appointment." Jack got in and started engine. Luci kept her mind open for the more simpler things to read from his mind, and Seth and Sara's as well.

"You want my card?" said Eddie.

"No."

They pulled out in a hurry, thinking they would be out of site in no time and out of danger for the time being. But they thought wrong. Men from the government surrounded them in no time, pulling guns and more amo from the many SUVs one after another.

"Hold on!" Jack exclaimed. Shots started being fired at them and Luci curled into a ball in Seth's arms, throwing out her defenses around the cab out of habit. Sara noticed this and turned in her seat.

"Luci, no! Let the force field down."

She didn't ask questions, but it was more difficult than she thought, trying to relax her muscles to let her defenses go. Seth rubbed her arms, which helped, but it took her a few seconds till it was completely gone.

"We can't let them know about our powers." Sara explained. She closed her fingers and held up her hand toward an SUV, releasing her fingers to cause it to explode. Men anywhere near it dived down in a panic as she destroyed the vehicles one by one.

"Whatever your doing, keep doing it." said Jack, navigating through the debris, Sara trying to be as sutle as possible as to not let anyone see it was her making their trucks explode. They kept driving and Sara stopped when she couldn't see and trucks not on fire. They sat, breathing hard, for a moment. Jack looked in his rear-view mirror.

"Say good-bye to Stoney Creek!"

But Sara stopped the car.

"What? No, not now! Sara, are you doing this?"

The back door opened and the dog that she had spoke to earlier jumped in the back seat next to Luci. She giggled and patted it's head.

"Oh, absolutely not! Junkyard is not going with us! I'm done picking up strange passengers!"

But Sara paid no attention to him, pushing the gas petle for him and they were completely out of sight of Stoney Creek in minutes with Junkyard, weather Jack liked it or not.

XxX

"Those guys that were chasing us, they were the ones from earlier, wern't they?" Jack had finally calmed down from the dog incident and was starting to get curious again. Junkyard's head was in Luci's lap as her's was leaning on Seth's chest, her eyes closed. She wasn't asleep, just relaxed. The tension had finally died down some, but it was still present. Seth's arm was around her small frame as he stared out the window at the surroundings, but she felt the small movement he took to turn his head to the front at Jack's question.

"Yes." Sara replied.

"It is vitle that you take us to their base of operation." Seth pushed in a small voice, just incase Luci was asleep. She smiled at his small, but caring gesture.

"You want me to take you to the guys who are trying to kill you?" Jack said.

She felt him nod.

"Let me explain to you how things work on Earth. People who want you dead, you avoid. That way, you, Mm-mm, stay alive. Make sense?"

Anger.

It was a simple, but pure emotion that Luci knew anywhere and it made her lift her head. Seth's jaw was tense and his ice blue eyes were like daggers at Jack. She didn't like that feeling, it made her skin tingle, like that feeling you get when your foot wakes up and all the blood rushes back into your toes. She felt around the rest of the room. Unhappyness, and worry. Sara didn't look very happy either. She was staring at Jack with a seemingly straight face, almost unblinking. Uncertainty, and...she couldn't even tell it was so eratic. She looked at Jack, who was staring straight at the road infront of them. Seth's voice caught her off-guard.

"No one on your planet will 'stay alive' if we do not return to our planet. And in order to return, we need our ship. Those men who were trying to kill us have stolen our ship. Make sense?" He was clearly mocking Jack. He didn't try to hide it at all. Jack opened his mouth to say something, obviously to argue, but when he saw Seth's expression, he closed it again, returning to stare out the window. Luci looked up at Seth, lacing her fingers with his and squeezing his hand, throwing her mind out to him. She wanted to comfort him in any way. She could feel how strong his anger was and it made her uncomfortable, it was almost unbarable.

_Seth... _

He didn't say or think anything, but his hand tightened in hers. She looked down at ther joined hands and sighed. She searched his mind for what he was trying to do. Did he want to argue with Jack? Was he done? Did he want to just abandon the mission? No. He was still angry, but another thought she found made her see another emotion. Fear. He was scared. But of what? She searched harder. Was he trying ot hide it from her? She kept running into walls. But wait, then she saw it. A vision of her, when she was trapped in the outpost. When she was covered in mud and dirt, terrified. Then another of her now. It didn't take her long to figure it out. He was afraid that she would get hurt again. He squeezed her hand again, but she was only slightly reassured.

"Where do you suggest we begin our search?" Sara looked at Jack.

"I dont' suggest we begin searching at all." he snapped. "I suggest that we go backto Vegas and drop you off right where you got on. You, too."

Junkyard whimpered.

"It's just as I thought." said Seth. "No human is going to help us. Especially not this human."

"Hey, hey. Easy, on the human bashing, okay? Some of my best friends just happen to be human. And even if I were to help you, I wouldn't even know where to begin, I mean, I don't know anything about UFO's, or aliens, or-"

"Then why do you feel so guilty?" Luci interupted. A look of worry and pity etched across her features. Seth pulled her closer.

Jack sighed. "No, what did I tell you about-"

"Who's Dr. Alex Friedmen?" said Sara. Jack paused a moment.

"She's actually somebody who can help. And for the record, she happens to be HUMAN."

Luci and Sara smiled.

**So yeah...review if you like. I'd appriciate it. **

_**Cally**_


	6. Thoughts and a Rest Stop

**Okay, so this one is kinda short, and I apologize for it, but today is my birffday, and I've had bunches to do with my friends graduation party, and my other friends birthday party, and getting ready to play at the graduation tomorrow...this is the only time that being in the band sucks...hahaa, anyway, sorry it's short, but it just goes through and kinda just...I don't know, just kinda says how the characters are feeling and what they're thinking, I guess. And I beilieve the next chapter will be similar and longer, so bear with me! Plus, I thought this segment was a cute comedic relief. :]**

**Thank you to** **writerchiq13, Blue, HofN, and peygoodwin for your reviews! They are greatly appriciated! :]**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I only own Luci.**

They were almost back to Las Vegas, not having much to say, just staring out the windows of the cab. Luci checked on everyone's emotions every now and then. Seth had finally calmed down, and Sara was starting to feel more relaxed, well, as relaxed as one could be in this situation. But Jack. Jack's emotions were still so eratic. She didn't even have to check, she could constantly feel all of his feelings. Anger, confusion, worry, determination. It was almost unbarable. Seth was holding her close and she lay her head on his chest. He looked down at her and a caring smile spread across his face and he kissed the top of her head. That's when Junkyard started to growl, staring at Jack.

"Sara." Jack said.

"He would appriciate it if you would pull over so that he may relieve himself." she replied. Luci giggled.

"Well, we don't have time for that. He should've went before we left Stoney Creek."

Junkyard growled again.

"He's impleased with your attitude." Sara said.

"Really? Is that the way he feels? Will you remind him that I'm a man, and he's a dog. And I'm not about ot have this or any conversation with a dog. So my answer is still no."

XxX

"I'm glad you think it's funny, Luci." Jack said. He was standing outside the cab with Sara waiting for Junkyard to return. Luci sat inside the car with Seth with a fit of giggles. Seth had a big smile on his face staring at his girlfriend, happy that she was enjoying herself even with the situation at hand. Luci tried to stop at Jack's comment, but was unsuccessful. Her cheeks started to hurt from smiling so big. Sara went through her brother's mind and smiled. He was so happy, and it had been so long since she'd seen like this. She leaned against the car.

_I havn't seen my brother this happy in a long time. _She thought to Luci.

_Really? _ Luci looked up at him. He was smiling so big his perfect teeth gleamed in the desert sun. She giggled and leaned into his chest. She felt so at home there, it felt so right to her. She'd never felt this way about anyone. But then she thought of the reason why she might not have gotten the chance. But he was gone now, and Seth was here. She promised she would be brave, and she would, even if it killed her. She looked up at Seth again, and he was staringdown at her, his face softing into a caring smile, wrapping his arms around her. She sighed, content with where she was.

_Yeah, _Sara continued. _and so relaxed. Well, apart from the whole 'save two planets and not die' deal._

_Yeah, that could cause someone a little stress. _And she wasn't lieing. She could feel a hint of stress from everyone, even herself. _What about you? How are you holding up?_

_I'm alright. I trust Jack Bruno. Have you been listening to his thoughts?_

_Yeah, sometimes. But what gets me are his emotions. There so...eratic. It gives me a headache._

Sara chuckled and Jack looked at her, but Junkyard returned before he could ask what she was laughing at. He jumped in the back into Luci's lap, licking her face and she giggled, hugging him and patting he head. Sara looked at the dog and turned to Jack.

"Junkyard says thank you." she said.

"Did he now? Is there anything else he wants?"

"Oh!" she looked back to Junkyard and he turned and licked her face. "He says he would love a bone, or a meaty-treat."

Jack gave her a look. "Top of my to-do list. Just get in."

_Geez. He's the one who asked. _Sara said silently, going around and stepping into the front seat. Luci giggled at her thought as they drove on down the empty desert road.

**hahaa, funny little chapter for ya. :]**

**Review if you like.**

_**3Cally**_


	7. The Full Story

**w00t! Another chapter! Sorry it's been so long, I finally got some down time. This past weekend was my birffday party and it's been a long one. But it was fun. :]**

**Thanks to Blue, peygoodwin, Raine44354, and Yum Kiwi Delicious for your reviews! They are much appreciated! :D**

**Anyway, here you are. I own Luci and Luke. [You'll meet him today. ****J]**

**Enjoy!**

They drove for a while till they reached the city, parking in front of a large building. People in strange costumes came and went around them as they stepped out of the vehicle. Jack walked up to a man in uniform standing at the door, pulling money out of his pants pocket. Seth, Sara, and Luci right behind him.

"Hey, I need you to keep the cab close and get the dog some water." Jack told him, sliding a sum of money into his hand. "And, uh, give him a meaty-treat."

He proceeded into the building, the kids on his heel looking around at all the sites and sounds of their surroundings. Jack put his arms around Seth and Sara's shoulders. Seth took Luci's hand.

"Okay," said Jack. "Stay close, and don't talk to anyone."

They stepped onto the escalator and maneuvered through the crowd, Seth almost dragging Luci behind him. Everyone's emotions were starting to overwhelm her. Excitement, happiness, sadness, anger, confusion, and some other emotions she couldn't even make out there were so many. How did Sara deal with all of the thoughts all of the time? Her body just about went into overload when they came to a large door with a sign outside with the name "Dr. Alex Friedman" on it. They slipped inside unnoticed and Luci was glad to find that the room was empty with the exception of a petite, dark-haired woman standing at the head of the room, drinking something from a Styrofoam cup.

"The cattle mutilation lecture doesn't start for an hour." she said. "But have a seat, this place will be packed. It always is." she threw the cup away.

"We're here to see you, actually." said Jack. "It's Jack Bruno. We met earlier."

"We did?"

"Cab? Airport to hotel? Driver." he gestured to himself.

"Ah, the non-believer. What are the odds?"

"Is there some place we can talk?"

She looked around the empty room. "Crowds in here making' you uncomfortable?" she teased.

"Even more private than this."

"I have enough to put up with."

"Doubt." said Luci before she could walk away. "And stress."

"She doubts her thesis on glucose 581." Sara added.

Dr. Friedman looked at the two girls. "How did you know that?"

"Oh, it gets better. Trust me." Jack said.

XxX

"Are you insane?" Dr. Friedman had taken them all to a closed Mars exhibit. Nobody would be in there for a while.

"I just thought you of all people would understand and wanna help!" Jack said in a loud whisper.

"Why? Cause I'm a nut-job speaking at a UFO convention?" she put a finger up to stop him. "Don't answer that."

"I know it sounds really crazy."

"Ya think?" she turned to the kids gathered around her laptop. They looked strangely excited about something. "Hey! Please don't touch that."

"You captured an image of our ship!" Seth picked up the computer to show a picture of space, smiles on all of the kids' faces.

"The smudge? Your telling me you think the smudge is your spaceship?"

"No, we don't think it is our spaceship," said Sara, looking at Seth and Luci with a big smile on her face. "We know it is our spaceship."

"That's it. I'm out. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll just grab my laptop and-" she went to take the computer from Seth's hands, but when she reached for it, it went right through his hands, almost hitting the floor. However, Sara's hands flew up and the computer stopped just inches from the ground. Dr. Friedman was in awe as it slowly floated back up to her level and, holding out her hands, Sara let it plop into her palms.

"Oh," said Jack, with a fake note of I-forgot-to-tell-you. "They can also do all of this stuff, too."

"Who are you?" She had a little bit of a hard time making out the words.

Sara looked to her brother. "Show her."

Seth pulled out the device from earlier and set it on the podium next to him. He didn't hesitate to press the big, blue button. A bright flash of light, and the whole room was filled with a hologram of the universe. Planets, starts, comets, moons, everything. Dr. Friedman couldn't hold in her excitement; giggling, looking around like a little girl in a toy store. Luci giggled with her and Seth put a hand around her waist and pulled her close to him.

"This is huge!" Dr. Friedman turned to the kids. "I have so many questions! Even though you are the answers, here, standing right in front of me."

Jack coughed.

"I'm sorry. I get excited." she chuckled and the kids looked at each other. Dr. Friedman took a breath. "Where are you from?"

"Our planet is located some 3,000 light years from Earth." Sara pointed to a hologram of their planet.

"Space travel this size is impossible."

"It it possible, using a paradox cult passage in unbound-"

"Worm-holes." she cut Seth off. "My presentation was correct! Space travel is possible by using wormholes as a shortcut through space."

"That was my first guess, too." Jack put in. They all looked at him, silently wondering if it was supposed to be funny or not. He looked around the room filled with awkward silence. "Continue, Doctor."

"Why did you come to Earth?"

"Our planet is dying." said Luci. "Neglect has rendered our atmosphere unbreathable."

"That sounds familiar."

"Our planets future did not look good and our people's fears began to rise when our parents found something our leaders were very interested in." said Sara.

"Your planet," Seth added. "Makes a suitable living environment for our kind. It would be simple as to abandon our dying planet and occupy yours."

"Okay, so, wait, now I'm helping you conquer my own planet?" said Jack, obviously hurt.

"No! Most of the people on our planet are seriously opposed to this plan." said Sara.

"But fear of extinction triumphed among our people." said Luci, clinging to Seth, afraid to say something that would make Jack angry.

"Then our parents discovered a solution. An experiment at an outpost here was successful in regenerating life into all previous dying plants and trees."

"Which would enable the reoxygenating of your poisoned atmosphere?" Dr. Friedman mused.

"So what's the problem?" asked Jack, confused.

"Our military." said Seth. "They prefer a solution of invasion over science."

"So they sent me, and my brother to retrieve the experiment." Luci explained head down.

"Your brother?" Jack stared at the girl. "But, where is he?"

She sighed, preparing herself. They needed to know. She'd have to tell someone at some point or another. Why put off the inevitable? "He's dead. They siphon killed him."

They were all silent, waiting for her to continue her story. Seth put an arm on her shoulder to comfort her. She smiled up at him, blinking away tears. She promised him, promised her brother, that she would be strong. And she would. She would be strong, for him.

She took a deep breath and continued. "Our parents worked with your parents on the outpost experiment, trying to convince our leaders that it would be better than invasion, but they wouldn't listen. Our parents needed to retrieve the experiment, but they couldn't leave the planet and had no way of sneaking out. Therefore, they turned to my brother, Luke, and I. They thought that they wouldn't suspect us, two kids, to be in on this kind of expirement. But we were wrong." she stopped and looked around the room. Everyone was staring at her. She could feel the excitement of everyone finally getting to hear her story. Nevertheless, when she turned to Sara and Seth, she felt the sadness of losing one of their own people. Pity for her, losing her brother. She continued.

"Almost as soon as we were off of the planet, they sent the siphon after us. We just escaped when we reached Earth's atmosphere and crash landed here. We were able to sneak out unnoticed, and I haven't heard any news of anyone finding our ship, but it's worthless now anyway. It was almost burned to a crisp in the crash. However, we found the outpost and we'd almost found the experiment when the siphon found us and began to attack. Luke told me to run, hide anywhere I could and tried to fight it, but it was stronger. It fired at him and hit him right in the heart. I was hiding in a bush and I had a clear view of the whole fight. He fell to the dirt and the siphon turned from him, obviously looking for me. I ran to my brother's aid and knelt next to him. He was dying, and there was nothing I could do about it. He told me to be strong, to fight, to get the experiment, to get home. To be strong. That was the last thing he said. All I could do was sit helplessly as he died in my arms. I heard an explosion, and I looked down at my brother one last time before I ran off to hide from the siphon. I hid there for two days until you guys came. The siphon took my brother away and left me alone. I didn't know what to do. Luke was the only one who knew where it was, so I just waited." she paused and looked around the room again. They all stared back at her with awed faces. "All proof that our planet can be saved and your planet spared is in there." she gestured to Sara's pocket and she pulled out the experiment they had retrieved from the outpost.

"Where-where are your parents again?" said Jack.

"They were arrested for the outpost experiment." Sara replied.

"Mine, too." Luci added.

"We agreed to complete the task for them after Luci and Luke did not return." said Seth, pulling Luci close to him, to protect her. She looked unstable, vulnerable.

"What about the assassin?" asked Jack.

"Assassin?" said Dr. Friedman. "What assassin?"

"The siphon warrior series 275 was created by our military." said Luci. "The same that attacked me and my brother."

"They're bred to hunt?"

"They're bred to kill." said Seth. "And if we don't return back home in time, the invasion will proceed."

"We seriously need to find your spaceship."

**Ta-da! Review please!**

_**3Cally**_


	8. It's Official

**w00t! Another chapter! I'm on a roll now! :]**

**ha-ha, anyway. Here's another chapter for ya! It's kinda short, but I think it needed to be there. More than halfway through the story now! :D**

**Thanks to Blue, Raine44354, and my new reader, Superdani a., who's reviews all boosted my self-confidence about 10,000 knotches. :]**

**Thanks guys. :]**

**Disclaimer: I only own Luci and Luke. :]**

**Anyway, enjoy! **

Luci walked hand in hand with Seth next to Sara as they followed Jack and Dr. Friedman through the crowded convention. They had decided to go find someone who could help them get to their spaceship somewhere behind the scenes of the gathering. Luci looked down as she walked, millions of things going through her head. Sara must've known, too, because she kept glancing down at her with a worried look, but she paid no attention to it. It was out in the open now. Her brother was gone, and she felt a large part of her heart had been ripped out of her chest. Like she knew the entire time, but actually saying it made it reality. She could feel the tears threatening to spill over, but she refused to let them. As much as she wanted to just break down and crawl under a rock and go die, she wouldn't. She promised Luke she would be strong and get home. But just the thought that she would be walking into her home alone, without her brother, was so painful, almost unbearable. They had been so close. Always together. And now he was gone. She sighed.

_Are you alright? _Thought Seth.

She took a moment to ponder her answer. Was she really okay? If she wasn't, she didn't want to tell him that, to worry him. Should she lie, and say that she was okay? She sighed. No. She wouldn't lie to him. He was so kind to her; she couldn't do that to him.

_Yeah, I'll be fine. I just miss Luke. _She could feel the tears, but she choked them back. She would not be weak. Not now, not when they were so close. They stopped behind Jack and Dr. Friedman when the started talking to some of the workers of the convention. Seth looked down at Luci and she immediately saw his face turn from caring to worried. His aura felt strongly of worry, and guilt. Why was he so guilty? It wasn't his fault that her brother was killed. It was that siphon. She reluctantly searched his mind for the answers she wanted. He wasn't guilty because of that, but because she was upset and he wanted to fix it, but couldn't find a way to. The corners of her mouth slowly pointed upward and he lifted a finger to whip under her eyes. Tears? They must've of slipped away when she wasn't concentrated on not crying. No matter now, Seth had seen them and he knew. She let them fall now. Her vision blurred completely and she blinked a few times so she could see Seth's caring face.

"Shhh," he said. "It's okay. I'm here."

This made her smile, but the tears kept coming, streaming down her face. She felt so vulnerable. Even more so than when they were attacked by the siphon. Then she could put up her force field, and physically protect herself. Now, when she was emotionally unstable, there was nothing she could do. And she didn't like it. But Seth pulled her into his strong arms, and she immediately felt a change. He would protect her, no matter what. She felt safe in his arms. It felt right for her to be there. He kissed the top of her head, and her muscles relaxed entirely. Her body started to shake and rattle with soft, almost inaudible sobs.

Sara stood watching knowing there wasn't much she could do. She turned to Jack, Dr. Friedman, and the workers. They were arguing about letting them see who they needed to see. She rolled her eyes and turned to her brother, whispering in his ear.

"Go. Make sure she's alright. I'll deal with this." she turned and walked away towards the adults. Seth watched his sister a moment before looking around; trying to find someplace they could go talk, but still could see his sister and company without going too far. He spotted a bench set up against a nearby wall and led Luci across the room and sat her down, sitting next to her. She didn't look at him and he put a finger under her chin and lifted her head, meeting her crystal blue eyes with his. They were red and bloodshot, but to him, they were still beautiful. He held her cheekbone and pointlessly whipped tears away with his thumb as they kept falling. She took a heavy, rattled breath and threw her mind out to him, unable to speak through the heavy sobs that racked her small frame. She sent him pictures of Luke, and how close they'd been growing up, everything they'd been through, and they trip to Earth, and trying to find the experiment. They the siphon attack, how he had saved her life, and then died in her arms. Seth was speechless, too entranced with the scene laid out in front of him. But the mood changed. The atmosphere of the pictures that she was sending him were different. They were hopeful; happy. Pictures of him, the first time she saw him, pictures of him and her in the cab, the feeling that she had liked him from the beginning. How happy she was when he said he felt the same way. A guilty feeling when she showed him that she had already known because she had searched his mind. He looked down at her to see her guilty, innocent eyes staring up at him with a scared look. The tears had stopped, but they were still red and puffy from crying.

_You are so beautiful. _He thought. She smiled and her head looked down to hide her pink-tinged cheeks. He lifted her head again and leaned in towards her. He hesitated no more than an inch from her lips, searching for any rejection in what he was about to do. Finding none, his lips touched hers for the first time. She seemed surprised at first, but closed her eyes with him and gladly returned the kiss. They parted and looked at each other a moment. Waiting for a reaction from one another, finding that they couldn't help but smile. Luci giggled as her face turned even more scarlet. He chuckled and gave her an Eskimo kiss.

"You're too cute." he said. She giggled again and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him again. He could feel the smile on her lips and smiled back, hands on her waist; he never wanted to let her go.

_Guys, we gotta go._ It was Sara in Luci's head and she looked over towards the group of people walking away from them. She spotted Sara's blond hair and took Seth's hand and they ran to catch up, falling in step with Sara behind the adults. Luci could feel Seth's aura glow bright with happiness, and it made her smile even bigger. Sara smiled as well.

_I saw that, by the way._ She said. Luci simply smiled and they walked out into the bright sunlight of the Las Vegas parking lot.

**That was fun to write. Just saying. It took me a while to get it just right, but I just felt that had to be there. Do you agree? Let me know! :]**

_**3Cally**_


	9. Plans Are Made

**Okay, so I'm sitting here at my mother's work with nothing to do, so I have all the time in the world to write! :]**

**Anyway, not sure how exciting this was, but it's an important transition, and I just thought it was a good ending to a chapter, otherwise I'd be writing one chapter for days. ha-ha. :]**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own Luci and Luke is all! :]**

"Go away! The book signing's not till 4:30. Read the brochure!"

"Dr. Harland, its Alex Friedman." she told the voice from inside the trailer. The door immediately opened and an older looking man stepped out with a huge smile.

"Dr. Alex Friedman."

"We have to speak with you immediately. It's incredibly important."

"So you're saying the three of you witnesses reported a UFO?" said Dr. Harland. They were all gathered around him in his small trailer, trying with little success to get the information they needed.

"We were wondering if there was, uh, any Intel out there amongst your sources." Alex replied.

"I hate lying, I really don't like lying. I can tell when people are lying." he paused, staring the children down like criminals. "Thankfully, your story checks out with all the reports I got from Seedy, and Nor ad, and NASA."

"We have reason to believe that the government operatives will cover the spacecraft." Seth took a step forward.

"Back up a little, this is not Space Camp. Let the experts do their work. You know you're very lucky that you didn't come face to face with the aliens who were in that craft. They're like deadly preying mantises. They eat your flesh."

Luci cocked her head to the side, blinking a couple times, confused. Was he referring to them?

"Oh, oh yes," Sara stated, simply agreeing with him to get the information they needed. "We are indeed lucky kids not to have our flesh eaten by the aliens."

"You got that right. Okay, let's get to work here."

Alex stepped in between Luci and Sara who were pushed back out of the group, but Luci kept staring, wondering why he would refer to them like that. Sara gave a strange look, fully knowing that Luci was one step ahead of her in reading Dr. Harland's mind.

"Do I wanna know?" she asked Luci.

"No. You really don't." she shook her head.

"Witch Mountain." Dr. Harland and the two men who worked there harmonized, bringing Luci and Sara out of their conversation. Everyone turned to the employees.

"What are we, a singing group, here?" said Dr. Harland. "Let me talk and you guys not." he turned back to Alex. "Witch Mountain. Let me look here, that a boy. 50 miles from the border of Nevada, and it's one of our top secret facilities." a picture showed up on he computer screen, showing an odd looking mountain. Dr. Harland handed Alex a bunch of papers and supplies that they would need to get there, and they all made there way out the door. Luci walked alongside Seth. She could feel everyone's auras filled to the brim with determination. It made her smile as they reentered the building.

They made their way through the crowd once more, Alex and Jack making a plan to get them to their ship.

_We should thank them. _Luci threw her mind to Sara. _They've done so much._

_Your right._ Sara thought. _You think now is a good time?_

_Yes. Now is as good as ever. We might not get another chance._

Sara nodded. She picked up her pace a little so that Jack and Alex were in earshot. "Thank you. Both of you."

They stopped and turned to look at the three kids. They were all staring at them with apologetic faces. Sara continued. "Seth, Luci, and I understand that you don't have to go forward with us, and yet you choose to."

"Your welcome." said Alex. "And, don't worry. We're gonna get you home. Promise."

She turned to Jack, explaining her plan to him and they started to argue about it. Luci stared a moment, and a smile spread across her face, giggling inside her head. Sara heard her and looked over at her.

_What? _She asked.

_Their feelings are so funny. She's just so excited, and he's till so…erratic._

_I thought that gave you a headache? _Sara teased. Luci smiled even bigger.

_It does. But with Alex, it's starting to get funny._

_Have you heard their thoughts? _She asked curiously.

_No. I haven't paid much attention lately. I've been more occupied with emotions._

"Just lay low till we meet up." Alex walked off towards the escalator.

"Sure. Okay." Jack watched her go and Sara took the opportunity to look through both of their minds. Smiling, she walked up to Jack.

"She thinks your handsome." she said.

"Really?" Jack stared after Alex.

"And smarter than you think you are."

"She was thinkin' about me, huh?"

"At least as much as your were thinking about her." Sara smiled.

"Hmm. She didn't happen to mention in her thoughts that I was-"

He was interrupted by a large crowd coming toward them; all dressed in strange, outlandish costumes, shouting about some kind of play, reenactment. Luci stared in awe and curiosity, starting into the crowd. Seth noticed just in time to grab her hand and pulled her close. He gave her a stern look, though he was still smiling.

_Sorry._ She said. He smiled and shook his head, entwining his fingers with hers.

"Should we go upstairs now?" he asked Jack.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, let's go upstairs." he watched Alex till he couldn't see her anymore and the kids walked off, losing him in the crowd. Jack turned, and they were gone.

**Uh-oh, where'd they go? ;]**

_**Cally**_


	10. Naps and RV Rides

**Oh, my gosh! I can not thank you guys enough for your reviews. I've gotten so many lately, and words can not describe how excited I am! :D**

**Thanks to: Raine44354, peygoodwin, Blue, and Superdani a. (to whom I do sincerely apologize if your name was messed up the last time. My computer is retarded sometimes. :]) Thank you guys so much!**

**Anyway, this is like the 3****rd**** chapter I've posted today. :]**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I only own Luci and Luke! :] **

Seth held tight to Luci's hand as they walked. She looked around like a curious little kid in a candy store. There were so many thoughts and feelings going around, and it made here dizzy. She was never used to this kind of thing. She put a hand on her forehead and tried to focus. Seth noticed this and put a hand on her back to steady her.

_You alright? _He said, concerned.

_Yeah, I'm fine. There are just a lot of thoughts and feelings going around and it makes me dizzy. _She looked around and spotted a crowd of people gathering around a stage.

"What's that?" she said. Smiling, she started toward it, and Seth had to hold tighter to her hand as to not lose her. Sara grabbed hold of Seth's arm as they made their way to the front of the audience. Luci looked up at the people on stage, dressed in unique costumes. She smiled and an amused giggle escaped from her lips. Seth watched her with a smile, happy that she was enjoying herself, even when they were on a mission to save not only their planet, but Jack's as well. Sara joined her, interested in what was going on the platform above them, as Seth came up behind Luci and wrapped his arms around her slim waist. She leaned into him, not taking her eyes off the performance, though she was still on guard, she knew that they had left Jack behind, but she also knew that he would find them. She was alert for Seth's mind, or aura constantly, and it didn't take long for his to reach the floor they were on.

_Seth, Jack's aura is up here somewhere._ She said.

_He's calling out to us, Luci._ Sara thought, also glued to the stage. That's when she actually listened for Jack's voice. She could faintly hear him, frantically looking all over the room for them.

_Luci?_ _Sara! _He didn't even bother with Seth. He knew he couldn't hear him anyway.

_You want to let him know where we are, Luci._ Sara suggested.

_Yeah._ She closed her eyes and leaned into Seth so she could concentrate on trying to find Jack's mind. It didn't take long, since she could go by listening for her's or Sara's name. She threw her mind to him.

_Jack? _

_Luci? Luci, is that you? _He sounded worried.

_Yes, Jack, it's me. Don't worry, we're fine. We're over by the stage._ She opened her eyes and continued to watch the performance till she heard Jack's real voice cutting through the crowd.

"Didn't I tell you three to stay by my side?" he said.

"Is this a reenactment of an important piece of Earth's history?" asked Sara.

"No. Come on, come on let's go." Jack started to lead them away, but another aura caught Luci's attention. It was a familiar, and it scared her. She looked up to the stage and her eyes grew wide. She clung to Seth's arm.

"Seth!" she yelled. He looked down at her, then to where she was looking. Sara saw it, too.

"Jack Bruno!" She exclaimed.

The crowd clapped for the siphon on stage, thinking that it was part of the performance. He held up a gun, and Luci dug her face into Seth's chest. He put an arm around her and looked around for an escape.

"Sara!" he shouted. She looked around and spotted a beam above the siphon and flicked her fingers out at it. It fell from the ceiling and whacked the alien from the stage, sending sparks and debris every which way.

"Let's go, let's go!" Jack led Sara away to the back of the room. Seth followed with Luci tucked safely under his arm. They made it out of the room and to the casino, where they were cornered in between two rows of slot machines and a bunch of people from the government. Luci squeezed Seth's hand.

_Seth, I'm scared. _She said.

_It's okay. I'm right here. _He squeezed her hand back.

"Sara, are you listening to what I'm thinking?" Jack said, looking straight ahead. Sara made a downward motion with her hands, palms down, and everyone sitting at the slot machines won their game. She immediately broke into a run, and Seth followed in right behind her, Luci holding tight to Luci's hand, dragging her behind. Jack on their heels, they saw Alex just ahead of them. She looked confused when he took her arm and dragged her with them.

"Let's go." he said.

"What happened to laying low?" she said frantically.

"Who lays low in Vegas?"

They made it out and into Harland's RV, and Junkyard was already there waiting for them. Sara took the couch and Luci and Seth slid into the table booth, while Jack and Alex took the seats up front. They sped out of the parking lot and, after about 30 minutes, they were on the open road again.

"Kids, why don't you try to get some sleep?" Jack suggested. "It'll be awhile before we get there."

Sara took no time to get comfortable laying down on the soft couch cushions, and she was asleep in minutes. Seth propped his legs up on the chair of the booth and set Luci in his lap. She rested her head on his chest as he stroked her long blond hair and she closed her eyes, taking a long, relaxing breath, thankful that she could let her guard down. She didn't have to watch for bad auras, or strange minds. She didn't have to be ready to put up a force field if needed; she didn't have to worry about anything. A small smile spread across her pail face.

_Luci?_ Seth thought.

"Hmm?" she didn't even bother to think it.

_I love you._

Her smile grew even bigger as she lifted her head to look at him. _I love you, too. _

He smiled back and kissed her lips. She sighed and laid her head back down on his chest, and he stroking her hair, and humming a soft lullaby sent her to sleep in minutes. Seth not far behind.

1 hour later

Alex turned in her seat to check on the kids. Sara hadn't moved from the position that she fell asleep in. She smiled and turned her head to Seth and Luci. Luci still lay on Seth's chest and their fingers were intertwined, resting on his stomach. They looked so comfortable, and at home, like that belonged together. Alex chuckled and Jack looked to her, then back at the road.

"What?" he said, smiling.

"So, uh, what's with the boy and the, uh, long haired girl?" she turned back around in her seat.

"Seth and Luci? I'm not sure. I've been trying to figure it out for a while now."

"They're cute."

"Yeah. They are."

It was silent between them for a moment. Both of them pondering what exactly to do next. They had a plan, but would it work? Alex took a deep breath, holding it for minute, and then let it out slowly.

"Jack?" she said.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we can really help them?"

He sighed, and thought about it a moment. Could they? Would they really be able to get Sara, Seth, and Luci home safely? What with the siphon, the government, and the kid's planet's military?

"Yeah," Jack said. "I really do." he smiled at her and she smiled back.

"Jack?" they heard Luci's small voice, scratchy from sleeping and not using it for an hour or so and Jack turned to see her sitting up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, and Seth's arm still around her waist. He was starting to wake also.

"What's up, Hun?" Jack replied as Sara sat up on the couch.

"Are-are we there yet?" she looked at them with innocent, blue eyes as Seth sat up and blinked a couple of times, squinting into the bright sunlight coming from the windshield. Jack looked at Alex and they both smiled.

"Are we there yet?" Jack repeated. "Good in any universe apparently. Well, Alex?"

She took out the picture of Witch Mountain that Dr. Harland had given her and looked it over. She scanned their surroundings.

"There." she pointed to a large mountain to their right and the kids all rushed to the couch around Sara to look out the window. Jack found a place to pull over and hide the RV with leaves and branches. Alex looked over the papers and documents that she had received, glancing around every once in a while. Seth, Sara, and Luci found a spot on the ground to play with Junkyard. But what Jack and Alex didn't know was that Luci had been awake through their whole conversation. She debated on whether or not to tell Seth and Sara, when Sara's voice sounded in her head, startling her.

_What do you want to tell us?_ She said. Seth saw Luci jump and gave her a strange look, though he was still smiling.

_Oh, um, it's nothing. _She told them both. _I just heard Jack and Alex talking about us._

_And by 'us' you mean…? _Sara asked.

_By 'us' I mean me and Seth._

_What did they say? _They both asked her at the same time and she flinched, but a smile remained on her pale face.

_Um, well, Jack thinks were together. And, uh, Alex just thinks we're cute. _Her face turned rose-red and she looked down, smiling. Both siblings smiled with her and Seth kissed her cheek.

"All right, kids," said Jack. "let's rock n' roll."

**Okay, so I was gonna end this chapter in the middle of this, but I was tired of only giving you guys short chapters, and it bugged me. :]**

**Anyway, I hope you liked it. I'll be going with my mom to work tomorrow, so I can go on a typing frenzy again, that is, if I don't finish it tonight, which I actually might do. We are dangerously close to the end. :]**

_**Cally**_


	11. Captured

**Yay! One more before midnight! :]**

**This one was actually slightly difficult to write…I'm sorry if it's not as good…I had a strangely hard time with it… :/**

**Anyway, thanks to Blue and Superdani (I'm sorry, but my computer is stupid and doesn't like your name for some reason. :/) for your reviews. :]**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I only own Luci and Luke.**

Sara, Seth, and Luci watched Jack and Alex return from scoping out a way to get into the mountain and they continued up the rock and dirt trail. Nobody said anything for a while, and Luci started to pant from the uphill walk.

"How much longer till we get there?" she asked.

"Not long, Luci." Jack replied. "Just a little further."

They went on a while more in silence and Luci stopped when she felt a strange aura. The rest of them kept walking as she looked around. It took a moment, then Seth realized she wasn't there and turned to find her. She was slowly turning circles, looking around. She looked confused when he reached her.

"What's going on?" Alex said. She, Jack, and Sara had come back for them.

"There's a-" Luci's hand flew to her neck. She looked to Seth and her hand slowly revealed a dart in the side of her neck.

"Seth…" she breathed. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she slowly began to fall.

"Luci!" Seth caught her before she hit the hard earth. "Luci! Speak to me!"

It was no use. Another dart was shot into his neck along with Sara. They all collapsed to the ground.

"Sara! Seth, Luci!" Jack ran towards the kids, but men from the government dressed in black surrounded them in minutes, and they were held hostage.

"Mr. Bruno." said one of them. "And, I believe, Dr. Friedman."

"What did you do to them?" she asked.

"Consider yourselves lucky. I could've had you both shot on sight for trespassing and violation of government property."

They took Sara, Luci, and Seth away on stretchers, sliding them into the back of a special truck. Jack watched with a helpless since of determination. He'd had enough.

"Sara!" he punched the guy holding him in the face and attacked anybody else who came near him. But he was unsuccessful, and they soon had him pinned to the ground. Alex came to his aid and helped him to his feet, turning to the man who had spoken before.

"Sir, with all due respect, you have to listen to me. They came in peace, we can not respond with violence. The future of Earth depends on it. It is absolutely vital that they get home."

"They are home, Dr. Friedman." he replied. "They're now in my custody."

"Custody? You can't expect to keep them prisoner and get away with it. They have rights! They-"

"They are illegal aliens on U.S. soil without so much as a passport."

"You can't keep this quiet. The world has the right to know that they exist."

"And you're going to be the one to blow the whistle, Doctor? A failed astrophysicist, fired from universities for obsessing over UFO's, teamed up with an ex-con, declaring that the government has captured two, no three normal looking kids and is holding them hostage inside a mountain that doesn't exist? It'd be so much easier to let you speak. Then to deal with all the paperwork involved with killing you."

"Someone will believe us." said Jack.

"From behind bars? Let me remind you, Mr. Bruno, that as a convicted felon you're looking at 20 years just for standing on this mountain talking to me. Shall I go on?"

Jack hesitated, glancing at the kids, before answering. "No. I get the message."

Alex turned to him, completely shocked. What was he doing? Giving up on the kids? Leaving them to the government after coming all this way? She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Smart man. Give them a lift back down."

"What?" Alex whispered to Jack as everyone started to disperse. "That's it? You're just going to-"

"Sir." one of the men approached the guy that had spoken to them. "One of them is waking up."

"Which on?"

"The long-haired female."

Jack and Alex's eyes grew wide as they whirled around to face the truck. Luci was starting to sit up. She was holding her head and she seemed like she was dizzy and unfocused. Unstable. She tried to look around at her surroundings.

_Seth?_ She threw out her mind to everyone near her, obviously unaware that there was more than just Jack, Alex, Seth, and Sara now. Everybody started to panic, looking around for the person who said it.

"Who said that?" The man said, looking around frantically.

"Luci." Jack breathed. _Luci! Shhh, don't! Seth is there with you. It'll be okay. _

He mentally called to her and she turned to him, confused and scared. He looked back at her with apologetic eyes, knowing there was nothing he could do to help her. Men started toward her and surrounded her in just minutes, rendering her helpless. She tried to create a force field, but whatever was in that dart wouldn't let her.

"Well, well, well." the man said. "It has powers."

"It has a name." Jack said through gritted teeth. The man only laughed.

"A little attached are we?" the men drug her over to where he was standing and held her there. She didn't struggle much. She felt weak, and couldn't move her muscles much. She averted her eyes to the dirt.

"Why is she awake?" the man asked.

"Maybe the dart didn't hit right."

_Jack, what's going on?_ It was Luci again in Jack's head. _Why is everyone so intense?_

_It's okay. I'll get you out. I promise._

"Either way, take her to the other room." the man continued. "We didn't expect a third guest anyway."

They started to drag her away, and she tried her best to get away with no success. She was tossed into a different vehicle away from Seth and Sara.

_Seth!_ She called out to him multiple times, but Jack and Alex were the only ones who heard it.

**Wa-la! What are they gonna do with Luci? What about Sara and Seth? Uh-oh. :]**

**I'm tired. Big typing day tomorrow. :]**

_**Cally**_


	12. Rescue Mission

Wow, I started writing a little late, but here's another chapter for ya. :]

Thanks to Blue and Superdani for your reviews.

Disclaimer: I only own Luci and Luke. :]

Enjoy!

"**Thankfully Seth, Sara, and Luci didn't have to witness how easily you gave up." said Alex. Her and Jack sat in the back of one of the government's trucks. They had taken the children the rest of the way up into the mountains, and they were getting further and further away every second.**

"**I told them from the beginning it was a suicide mission. And I wasn't wrong." Jack snapped, refusing to look her in the eye.**

"**They trusted you! I trusted you!"**

"**Yeah, well, join the club of everybody else in my life who I've disappointed."**

"**They will dissect them like frogs in a high-school biology class, you know that!"**

"**Whatever. It's not my problem and never will-" **

**Alex slapped him hard across the cheek so he couldn't finish. The men up front whirled around in their seats, shouting at them and Jack threw a punch at the passenger's face and slammed his head against the driver's, shoving them both out of the window. Alex took the driver's seat and Jack in shotgun.**

"**By the way, that slap," said Jack, rubbing his cheek. "Very realistic. When did you know?"**

"**You haven't bailed on the kids yet. Why start now?"**

**Luci woke in a glass room. She looked around a moment, letting her vision come back to her. There were machines everywhere and everything was white. Different sounds reached her ears at the same time and she tried to sit up, but found that she was strapped to some kind of table. She threw her mind out to find Seth or Sara, or Jack or Alex. No such luck.**

_**Where am I? **_**She thought.**

"**You are in Witch Mountain." a new, but familiar voice sounded overhead. She jumped and looked around to try and find who it was. She hadn't thought she'd thrown her mind out anywhere. Something was wrong. She saw a man dressed in nice clothes standing in a room attached to the white one; like a second floor. He could see the whole room from where he stood.**

"**What's your name?" he asked, trying to make conversation. She didn't buy it.**

_**Why do you care? **_**She refused to look at him, or talk to him out loud, so to speak.**

"**Because I want to help you."**

**She was weak, but Luci extended her senses. It made her extremely tired, extremely fast, but she found what she was looking for. Lies. **_**No you don't. You want answers.**_

**He narrowed his eyes at her, deciding to take another approach at getting what he wanted. "You know, the other two weren't this much of a struggle. It seems that, they've given up."**

**Luci's expression changed immediately. Seth and Sara had given up? No. They couldn't. Not after getting this far. But, was he lying? She couldn't tell, too exhausted. Should she just give up then? She turned to look at him.**

_**Wha-what are you talking about? **_

"**Oh, you didn't know? We have your friends here with you. There in the room next door. There sleeping now, but I'll let you see them. That is, if you give me the answers I need."**

**Luci looked away from him. They were sleeping? Now? Maybe they had given up. Maybe it was all over, no hope left. Should she try to keep going on? Get on the spaceship and go home? Or just give up, like Seth and Sara seemed to have. He said she would let her see Seth again if she gave him answers. Then they could just go home, and let the invasion happen. There planet would still be saved, just not Jack's. Jack. And Alex. What about them? Had they given up, too? Where were they? Jack wouldn't give up on them. Or maybe he would. He said it was a suicide mission. What if they tried to hurt them with the answers she gave them? No. No, she wouldn't give up. She refused. She promised Luke she would be strong and get home, and that's what she would do.**

_**No.**_

"**What?" he looked angry.**

_**I said no. You're not getting anything from me.**_

"**Mr. Burk." she looked over to see two men dressed in heavy, white suits walk in to her room. "The other two specimens are heavily sedated. Tests proceeding between 48 and 72 hours."**

**Mr. Burk hesitated before answering, glancing at Luci several times. "Good. Now start on this one."**

**He left through a door that Luci couldn't see and the men that had come into the room approached her, talking amongst themselves. They began to take wires from the machines surrounding her and placed something under her nose. They pressed some buttons and exchanged some numbers and such and she could feel cold air streaming into her nostrils. Soon she was in darkness.**

**Clang!**

The circular, metal piece fell down the shaft that Jack and Alex had found to get into the mountain. Jack climbed in and looked down, starting down the ladder. Alex followed and glanced down, her eyes going wide. Jack saw her terrified expression.

"It's gonna be okay." Jack assured her. "I'm gonna be here the whole time."

She nodded and proceeded down again. They hadn't made it part of the way there and something shook the shaft and Alex's bag fell down off her shoulder. It took a moment for them to hear it hit the ground. She watched it fall and then it hit her where they were.

"Exhaust furnace!" she started back up and Jack grabbed her ankle.

"This way, this way!" he said. "There's another tunnel right here!"

The fire started up the tunnel, quickening every second. Jack slid into the branch off the shaft, Alex right behind him. They made it out just in time, only to find that the tunnel was a giant slide. They slide for a good few minutes, screaming all the way down till they came to solid ground. Jack first, then he caught Alex around waist to somewhat cushion her fall.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine." she replied, panting.

"Okay. Let's go."

They climbed out unnoticed and hid behind one of the large machines. There were people everywhere, walking around with clipboards and operating machines. Alarms went off everywhere, making them both jump, but they didn't move. The place was cleared out and Jack looked around, spotting a large white room surrounded by glass. Gesturing for Alex to follow, they snuck across the isle to hide behind a large pillar. The large white room was vacant of people as well. They looked in and saw Seth and Sara unconscious strapped to silver tables. But no Luci. They managed to find a way into the secluded room, running to Seth and Sara without delay.

"Where's Luci?" asked Alex, looking over all of the machines.

"I don't know. What is it?" he replied, trying to find a way to unlock Seth and Sara from their prison.

"Uh, some kind of anesthetic."

"Can you figure it out?"

"I don't know, but I can try."

"These latches are too strong."

"Oxygen." Alex mumbled to herself, switching a cord in both machines.

"Hurry. We gotta hurry." Jack said, looking around frantically. It didn't take long for Seth to take a breath and sit up, phasing through the locks. He put a hand to his head and looked around.

"Where's Luci?"

"Where not sure." said Jack, putting a hand on Seth's shoulder. "But we're going to find her."

**Click, click.**

They all looked over to see Sara's eyes flutter open. She took a breath and sat up, taking the cord from under her nose and pulling it over her head. She looked to Jack and smiled.

"We're gonna get'cha outta here." he said.

They ran down the halls, alarms and red light flashing everywhere, searching frantically for Luci. Sara hunted for Luci's mind, jumping from person to person. Everyone seemed to be looking for them, some people were trying to escape themselves, but Luci's thoughts were no where to be found. It scared her. The only reason would be that she wasn't thinking anything. They had to find her quick. It might've already been too late.

"There!" Alex brought her out of her worried thoughts, pointing to a large white room, much like the one they had just left behind. Seth was the first to run ahead of them, Sara on his heels. He phased through and unlocked the doors, spotting Luci laying unconscious on one of the silver tables. As soon as Jack and Alex and his sister were inside, he ran over to Luci, leaning over her body and looking her over. She was breathing, but she didn't move. He brushed her bangs out of her eyes stared at her a moment before looking up. Sara unlocked the latches holding her down, and Alex was messing with the machine.

"There's no time to wait till she wakes up. We have to go. Just carry her." Jack pushed. Seth slid his arms under Luci's limp body and cuddled her close. Sara noticed the experiment lying on a nearby table and snatched them up, following her brother out the door.

**Oh dear, I do hope that Luci is alright. ;]**

_**Cally**_


	13. Escape

**w00t! Another chapter! :D**

**Thank you Blue! :]**

**Disclaimer: I only own Luci and Luke.**

**Enjoy!**

"It's over there!" Sara pointed towards a long hallway in front of them. Jack and Alex followed the kids away from the white rooms and down the isle. The entered a door and ducked down under some boxes, peeking out behind the bars of the railing. There it was, their spaceship. Still in one piece, it was majestic. People were gathered around it, studying it, looking at his, touching it, attempting to uncover its secrets. Computers were everywhere with statistics and numbers that no normal person would understand.

"We have to hurry." Sara whispered.

"Well, tell them that." Jack replied.

"Good idea." Alex turned and grabbed a spare lab coat that was hanging nearby, walking down the stairs as if it was normal day in Witch Mountain.

"Wait!" Jack tried to stop her, but it was too late. She was a woman on a mission.

A low groan from Seth's lap caught their attention. Luci was starting to come to. She opened her eyes, squinted and blinked a couple of times and looked up. She coughed and scanned her surroundings.

"Seth?" She managed. Her voice seemed hoarse and hard to use.

"Shhh, I'm right here." he laid her head in the bed of his neck and shoulder and rocked her a bit. The stuff they had used to put her to sleep hadn't completely worn off without the fresh supply of oxygen that he and Sara had received, and she was still weak. She clinged to him and smiled, happy to be back in his arms again.

"I knew it." said Jack. They looked up at him to see that he had a smirk on his face. Sara smiled and shrugged. Seth smiled back at her, uncaring that Jack knew about them. Luci was safe again, and that was all he cared about at that moment.

Luci waited with Jack and Alex while Seth and Sara went to activate the ship. Blue lights dotted its rim and a door opened in front of her, allowing a ramp of light to fall toward them. Seth came down from the stairs and took Luci's hand, Sara joining them in looking up at their spaceship. It was really there; they were really getting out of there and going home. Luci, starting to get her strength back, could feel the excitement of everyone to have finally gotten here. Seth started to lead her up the ramp, Sara, Jack, and Alex right behind them, but they only made it half way there and a familiar voice stopped them in their tracks.

"Thank you." said Mr. Burk from the second floor platform. "We've been having a hard time figuring that part out."

Luci folded into Seth's chest and he put an arm around her protectively. That's when she felt it. Jack's aura had changed. She could actually feel one emotion instead of his usual erratic bundle that she could never decode. Love. Jack, in all honest truth, loved Seth, Sara, and Luci so much, that he would take a bullet, or 100 bullets, just so they would get home safely.

"Brave, but empty gesture, Mr. Bruno." said Mr. Burk.

"They're just kids." Jack replied in a calm, steady tone. Luci lifted her head and stared at him a moment. Slowly, she made her way towards him, stepping away from Seth's safe embrace and into the range of all of those men's guns, taking Jack's hand in hers. He looked down at her, but she kept her stern eyes glued to Henry Burk. Suddenly Sara's breath caught. Luci looked over at her, her eyes not showing much emotion, but Sara knew. Sara had read her mind, figured out her plan. Luci nodded, and a small smile crept onto both of their faces. Sara took a step forward and reached for Jack's other hand, standing tall next to him. Seth had known that look, from both of them. His face was stern as he took Luci's hand, intertwining his fingers with hers, then Alex on the other side of Sara.

_Be ready. _Luci told everyone. Mr. Burk gave the signal and shot were fired from every direction at them. Luci closed her eyes and squeezed Seth's and Jack's hand, tensing her muscles. A large force field made a bubble around all five of them and the bullets bounced off them like bouncy balls. Jack and Alex tried to duck, but kept their contact with the children. Luci stood completely still, keeping her muscles tense as to not let the shield get a weak spot anywhere.

"Hold your fire!" shouted Mr. Burk, waving his hands in the air. The bullets stopped and everyone stood there a moment. Luci kept up the force field up, scared that they would start again, but a familiar aura made her drop it and her eyes flew open.

_Siphon! _She exclaimed. An explosion sounded and Seth dragged her into his arms

"Run!" Jack made a break for the spaceship and Alex and the kids followed, Sara turning off the ramp when they made it inside. They clamored into the cabin and Seth and Sara took their seats.

"Cool." Alex whispered.

"Let's get this thing up in the air. Let's go!" Jack wasn't interested in how cool the spaceship looked, he wanted out of there. The controls glowed blue and Seth and Sara started naming things off. The ship began to move, very rough-like.

_Luci, hang on to something._ Seth said and she took hold to the back of his seat.

"You do know how to fly this thing right?" said Jack.

"How do you think we got here?" replied Seth, not taking his eyes from the screen in front of him.

"Well, you crashed, remember?"

The ship jerked and tossed them around the cabin till they were almost out of the tunnel. The door started to close and they pushed and pushed and made it out just in time. Alex and Jack let out a huge sigh of relief and Luci smiled and leaned around Seth's chair to kiss him on the cheek.

"We did it." she said.

"We did it." Sara echoed. But the smile was knocked off of their faces when the ship rattled, sending Alex, Jack, and Luci to the ground.

"What was that?" Alex asked in a panic.

"The airlock's jammed." replied Seth. "I need to manually override the system."

"I'll do it!" Luci scrambled to her feet and made a break for the door.

"Luci! No!" Seth called after her, but it was no use. She was already gone and out the door.

**Well, she just keeps running off, now, doesn't she? ha-ha. :]**

_**Cally**_


	14. The Last Battle and Sweet Goodbyes

**w00t! Guys, I believe this is the last chapter. And I actually did cry while I typed this at the end, I'm just saying. **

**Thanks to all of my reviewers who were there all the way to the end, this was the first story I've ever finished, and I think part of that was thanks to you guys:**

**Blue, you were my first review. And by the way, in reply to your last review- "I know right? I didn't even notice till half way through and I was just like, she does that a lot. ha-ha. :]"**

**writerchiq13**

**HofN**

**peygoodwin**

**Raine44354**

**YumKiwiDelicious**

**Superdani, I would just like to apologize for my computer (Krisilyn) for she refuses to write your name correctly, and I'm not sure why. Anyway, your reviews made me smile and giggle every time I read them. Thanks. :]**

**Anyway, I just wanted to thank you guys for your reviews. :]**

**Disclaimer: I own only Luci and Luke.**

**Enjoy!**

"Ah!" Luci was knocked to the floor from the rough pattern of the ship. She looked up and searched for the airlock. When she spotted it, she had to crawl to get to it. There was already a little wind coming from the closed airlock, and even that was almost unendurable, but she made it to the gate and pushed with all her might to get it to open, with no such luck. She put all of the weight of her small frame into getting it to open, but even she knew that wasn't near enough.

She turned to try again, and she felt a large hand fall heavy on her shoulder, throwing her across the room. She let out a high-pitched scream as her back hit the wall, hard. She looked up to see a siphon looking down at her, the same one that had been after them the whole time. She didn't even have time to let out another cry for help before its foot made contact with her stomach, kicking her multiple times. She tried to stand, but it picked her up by the throat and pinned her to the wall, cutting off her air circulation. She kicked and grabbed hold of its head, screaming out with her mind for Seth until the siphon threw her across the room again, pulling his helmet off in the process. She laid there, her back to the siphon; her body didn't want to move.

"Luci!" Seth's voice got her attention and she made her muscles move to sit up and find Seth. That's when she noticed the object in her hands. Her eyes went wide when she realized that it was the siphon's helmet. She looked up to see a pair of beady black eyes staring down at her. It raised its arm, ready to throw another blow at her and she screamed, putting her arms up in defense, ready to put up a force field if needed.

"Luci!" she looked back to behind her, thinking she was crazy for hearing Seth's voice through the wall, but he phased through the partition and stood in front of her. The siphon tried to throw a punch at him, but it went right through his body.

"Seth!" Luci was scared out of her mind, and the siphon knew it. It went to grab at Seth, but phased through him and took hold of Luci instead, snatching her by the arm and threw her against the wall, slamming her head on the airlock door. She let out a scream as it let her go and she fell into the airlock. She hit the ledges with a deep thud and the siphon jumped in after her, grabbing her throat and dangling her over the electric filled shaft. Seth came up behind the siphon and whacked it with its own helmet. Luci's body hit the wall again and the siphon fell in, vaporized in seconds.

"Luci!" Seth grabbed her and dragged her out to safety, hitting the button to close the shaft.

"Luci! Luci, are you okay?" he cradled her in his lap, and her eyes opened, but they looked blurred, and dizzy-like.

"Luci?" he repeated her name, hoping that would help get her eyes focused. He looked around when a low buzz filled the room. A force field appeared, disappeared, then reappeared several times.

_Yeah? _She put a hand on her head.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, but I can't control my force fields." She looked a little scared and Seth sat there with her until she could fully get a hold of her powers. When she could conjure a shield, and hold it, then let it got without it blinking back, Seth started to calm down.

"Will you be alright?" he asked.

"Yes, I think I will be fine." She flicked her fingers and created one more shield and let it go to be sure, then smiled up at him. He smiled back and kissed her for a short moment, picking her up when they parted and slowly let her down on her feet, making sure she could walk properly before leading her back to the cabin.

"You both must hurry." Sara told Jack and Alex. It had taken them a short amount of time to find a place to land the ship, and they had had little time to say their goodbyes.

"It is only a matter of time before they get here." Luci said, holding Seth's hand.

"Don't worry about us." said Jack.

"Sara, Luci, and I want you to have this." Seth handed Jack some kind of device. The same one they started with.

"As long as it is in your possession," Sara ran her hand over it, and the lights on it blinked a couple of times.

"We will always be able to find you." Luci finished for her, a wide smile on her face.

Jack took the device from Seth. "Thanks."

Luci watched him walk a ways away as Alex stood in front of them. She turned to Seth and Sara. "Your parents will be very proud of what you've done here." She hugged them both.

Luci stood by and let them have their moment. She knew better, and she watched with a smile on her face. Their parents really would be proud of them. She could feel the sense of pride radiating off both of them, and it made her smile. Alex turned to face her, and it caught her off guard when she hugged her and held her at arms length. "Your brother would be proud of you as well, Luci. Going after what happened. I know he would."

A silent tear rolled down Luci's cheek and she nodded, holding her lips in a thin line to keep them from trembling.

_Thank you. _She thought, unable to speak. Alex hugged her again, and Seth walked over to Jack.

"I once said that we could never count on humans to help us. Especially you. I was wrong. And for that I am sorry."

Jack looked at him for a moment, then took a step closer. "You take care of yourself. Your sister, too. And, uh, about Luci." He pointed with his chin towards the girls behind them. Seth looked back and saw them all talking, laughing, and crying all at the same time. He smiled and turned back to Jack.

"You gonna tell me what's really going on?" Jack smiled.

Seth pondered his response, though he already knew the answer. He looked up at him and smiled. "I…I love her."

Jack put a hand on his shoulder. "Keep her safe, too, then. Understand?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"Jack?" Sara turned her attention from Alex and Luci and ran to him, tears escaping her eyes like water falls as she tackled him in a hug. Luci joined Seth on his other side, keeping out of this moment as well. Her old self seemed to be coming back, and she felt the urge to simply stay back out of the group. Sara must have heard her thinking to herself and looked up at her.

_You _**are**_** part of this group. **_She said, holding an arm out. Jack smiled and held his arm out as well. She ran to them, letting them wrap there arms around her, and letting her tears fall. It was over, and she felt she had been strong, not only for Luke, but for Sara, and Jack and Alex. And for Seth. She had made it without losing herself, she had made it.

Jack held them both at arms length as Alex had done with her. "Just remember, me and Alex, we're only a wormhole away. Okay?" tears started to fall from his eyes as well

They nodded. In addition, Sara took a step forward. "Will you promise me something? Will you take care of Junkyard for me?"

"Anything you want." Jack smiled, his eyes red from crying. Seth started back toward the ship and Luci went to say her last goodbyes to Alex. Sara stayed back with a smile, putting a finger to his temple, closing her eyes. Jack looked confused for a moment, but then his eyes went wide.

"It's time." Seth said from the top of the ramp, holding his hand out for Luci, who didn't hesitate to intertwine her fingers with his and join him. They looked at each other then back at his sister. Sara looked at them from the bottom of the ramp and a slow smile spread across hers and Luci's face. She walked up and stood next to her best friend, all of them turning to face Jack and Alex. The ramp started to disappear, the door started to close. Jack smiled as Seth leaned down and kissed the top of Luci's head and she leaned into him.

_Thank you, Jack._ Was the last thing he heard from Luci as the doors came to a complete close, but Sara's last words would forever remain in his mind, just as she had intended.

_You're a good man, Jack._

**I bawled like a baby writing this, I just wanted you guys to know that. :]**

**I'm debating on whether or not to write a sequel to this, just because I really enjoyed writing it. But if I did, I would need some ideas, or tell me what you would want to see, and I'll see what I come up with. But till I get some ideas, I'll be working on my Narnia story that I started a while ago. Read if you like. I'm taking the old one down and re-writing some of it. Read if you like, and send in some ideas for The Race is On Sequel. :]**

_**Cecilia Alice**_


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